Automatic can-opening machine



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' W. L. STREET AUTOMATIC GAN OPENING MACHINE 3 /723241 z 7 2 51x /qf W.L.. STREET r AUTOMATIC CAN OPENING MACHINE Filed April lo 1923 zSheets-Smet 2 3a i el? Patented @et 2., lg..

err srs WDE L. STREET, 0F CHI-CAGO, ILLNOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE T. A. .::v

aeeaae este.

COMPANY, 0F CHICAG, ELLNOIS, A CORPORATION OE' ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC CAN-OPENING CHINE.

Vappiiaaioaaiea apra 1o, waa. aerial no. asaeea braces 15, 16, allbolted foreourely fastened To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WADE L. STREET, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Chicago, Cook County, and State of llinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Can-Opening Machines,of which the following is declared to be a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to automatic can opening machines and itsprincipal object is to provide power operated mechanism of strong,substantial and practical construction, for automatically Severin thetops or top portions of tin cans from t e remainder thereof, whereby thecontents may be dlscharged from the cans.

In many `large establishments, great quantities of canned vegetables,frults and the like are used in certain seasons of the year,particularly when fresh vegetables and frult are not obtainable, and thetask of opening the tin cans, containing the vegetables, fruits, etc.,is a laborious and tedious one, requiringthe time of several worlnnen'ina plant of any considerable capacity.

With a machine embodying the present invention, the cans areautomatically opened, and the contents discharged as quickly as one ortwo men .can feed thecans to the machine. rlhe invention consists in theseveral novel features hereinafter fully set forth and claimed..

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an automatic can opening machine embodyingone form of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan thereof ;"'Fig. 3 isa view of the knife mechanism looking at the underside thereof; Fig. 4is a detail, vertical, longitudinal section taken on line 1 -f1 of Fig.2; Fig. 5 .is a detail vertical cross sect-ion taken online 5 5 0f Fig.2, and Fig. 6 is a detail, vertical, cross section taken on line 6-6 ofeferring to said drawings, wh1ch illustrate a simple embodiment of theinvention, the reference character 10 designates a main frame of strongand substantial construction, up'on which the working parts are mounted.Conveniently, the. frame may comprise horizontal lengthwise extendingframe members 11, horizontal crosswise extending frame members 12, legs13, 14, and

to ether, to provide a rigid framework.

ournalled in bearing boxes 17, 18, that are secured upon the framemembers'll, are two shafts 19, 20, uponwhich are mounted sprocket wheels21, that ,are arranged in pairs, one pair'on each shaft, and those oneach shaft bein in alignment with those on the other sha, and around thealigned vsprocket wheels are trained link belts-or sprocket chains-22.The bearing boxes v17 are adjustably mounted and are .provided l withadjusting screws 23, mounted in brackets 24, whereb Vthey may beadjusted to take up slack in t e sprocket chains 22.l

The shaft l20 projects ,beyond the side of the main frame, and isconnected to anddriven from any suitable source of power, and, asshown,l a gear wheel 26 is mounted on the end of the shaft 20, and'meshes with a pinion 27 mounted on a pulley shaft 28 which isjournalledun bearing boxes 29 secured to frame members 30, the latterbeing secured to and supported byA legs 3l, connected to the main frameby frame members 32. Upon the shaft 28 is a belt pulley 50 which may bebelted to the drive pulley of a motor or other drive mechanism.

At equidistant places on the sprocket chains 22 certainoppositely'disposed links are provided with lugs 33 to which are rig--idly secured can propelling heads 34 which extend from one chain to theother. Said can propelling heads 34 may have semicir cular or U shapedportions 35, of such size and shape as to fit partly around a tin can,of a given size. rlhe chains 22 and heads 34 provide an endless canconveyer, of strong. and substantial construction, capable of poitivelypropelling the cans past the can opening knife mechanism, which will bepresently described. A table or platform 36 supported by the members 12of the frame work 10 extends between the shafts 19, 20, at a suitabledistancebelowthe upper bights of the conveyer chains 22, and receivesand supports the tin cans, X, while they are being moved from thereceiving end of. the machine (lettered a) to the discharge end(lettered b). Chain supporting and guiding rails 37 are secug'ed to thetable and have llanges38 (see Fig. 6) that underlie thel upper bights ofthe chains and carry the weight thereof. They also act to guide thechains to move in a horizontal plane parallel with is I eo l

as l

' ated on.

the table. The table 36 and rails37 form a trough through which the cansare propelled by the conveyer chains.

-'ll`he legs 14 extend up above the upperl bights of the chains andsupport the can opening knife mechanism. Secured to and connectingtheupper ends of the opposing legs 14 are cross frame members 38, 39,and secured to the latter are two horizontal knife carrying bars 40 thatextend length-4 wise ofthe machine. lltemovably secured to said knifecarrying bars 40 as by bolts and nuts or,screws 41, (see Fig. 5) is aknife blade 42 which extends in a horizontal direction, across 4andabove the top of the trough, and in a plane slightly below the tops orupper ends of the `cans to be oper- 'lhe forward or kcutting edge43 ofthe kniteblade 42 is rpreferably made V shaped and saidjedge is beveledand sharpcned.

The knifecarrying bars 40 project beyond the cutting edges ot the knifeblade 42 and sur'iportl a pressure bar 44, which overlies the troughimiediately in front of the knie blade and prevents the cans from beingtilt- 'ed back when@ they encounter the knife yau blade. The pressurebar 44 is capable of yielding slightly in an upward direction toaccommodate slight inequalities in the bights ot the cans.. lt issecured to and supported by two cross bars 45 (see Figs. 6, 3 and 4)which rest on the knife bars 40. @oiled compression springs 46 confinedbetween the upper faces of the bars 45 and heads of bolts 47 that aresecured to the knife bars l 4() and extend through the bars 45, act totitl y hold the ressure bar 44 cans, whi' e passing thereunder, wherebythey. are prevented from being tilted when encounterin the knife blade42.`

Beyond t e knife blade 42 is a cover receiving chute or guide 48, whichleads oil to one side of the machine and has a vertical y flange 49 forguiding the severed tops of the cans to one side of the machine wherethey fall into a suitable receptacle. The chute or guide 48 is securedto the bars 40 in any sultable manner.

ln the operation olf the machine, the conveyer is propelled in thedirection of the arrows in Figs. l and 2. An attendant places the illedcans on the table 36 at the receivingend, a, one can only being placedin front of each can propelling head 34. When the head engages the can,it moves it forward toward the knife blade 42 and, as it encounters it,thev pointed end of the blade penetrates the wall o the can adjacent itsupper end, as seen in Fig. 4, and severs the top portion from theremainder ot the can, said severedportion passing over the knife blade,and remaining in a position where the following severed top will engageit and move it upon the chute 48 from which it will can is dischargeddown upon the be encountere igieeee finally be discharged. rllhe openedcan is propelled under the knife blade and ch'ute and is dischar ed fromthe machine at the discharge end, as the conveyer passes. over thesprocket wheels '21. Conveniently, the into a receptacle or chute (notshown) located at the discharge lend of the machine, and having a wiremesh screen at its upper end upon which the cans tall, when dischargedfrom the machine. rllhe contents pass through the screen into thereceptacle or chute,and an attendant removed the empty cans.

The machine is automatic in operation, is positive in action. separatesthe tops from. the can bodies and requires practically no attention.'llwo attendants, one forV eeding the cans to the machine, and one 'forremoving the empty cans, great number ont cans which it would otherwiserequire many other workmen to do the same amount of work.

More or less variation of the exact details of construction is possiblewithout departing from the spirit of this invention l desire, therefore,not to limit myself to thel exact form of the construction shown anddescribed, but intend in the following claims Letters Patent:

l. A can opening machine comprising, a table, a can deheading knifeblade parallel with said 'table and stationarily supported thel'eabove,said blade heilig unobstructed from front to back, and can propellingmechanism for moving lled cans along said table and past said' knifeblade, being placedin position to be encountered by the upper ends ofthe cans.

2. A. can openin traveling can rope ling mechanism and a can deheadingnife blade parallel with said conveying mechanism and stationarilymounted along the path of movement of said can propellin mechanism bythe upper ends of the cans.

3. Ar can opening machine comprising, traveling can propellingmechanism, a can deheading knife blade parallel with said conveyingmechanism and stationarily mounted along the pathv ol movement of saidcan conveyer in position to be encountered by the upper ends ol: thecans, and a spring pressed pressure bar for engaging the tops of thecans, and located in advance of the knife blade.

4. A can opening machine comprising, traveling can propelling mechanism,a can deheading knife blade parallel with said conveying mechanism andstationarily mounted along the path oit movement of' said can conveyerin position ta be encountered the latter machine comprising,`

in position to lll@ VLeeaaee by the upper ends of the cans, a spring'pressed pressure bar for enga ing the to s of the cans, and located in avance of t e knife blade, and a chute for receiving the severed can endslocated behind the knife blade.

5.'A can opening' machine, comprising, a table, an endless power drivencan conve er,l traveling over` said table, and a can de eading knifeblade, parallel with said table and stationarily supported thereabove inunobstructed condition from front 'to back, in position to beencountered by the upper ends of cans propelled by the can conve er.

6. can opening machine comprising, a table, an endless power driven canconve er, travelin over said table, a can deheadling knife bade,parallel with said table and stationarily supported thereabove inosition to be encountered by the upper en s of cans propelled by theycan conveyer, and a spring pressed pressure bar for engaging the tops ofthe cans and located in advance of the knife blade.

7. A can opening machine comprising, a table, an endless power drivencan conveyer, travelin over said table, a can deheadinggl knife b ade,parallel with, said table and,

stationarily supported thereabove in osition to be encountered by theupper en s of cans propelled by the can conveyer, a spring pressedpressure bar for enga 'ng the to s of the cans, and located in a vanceof t e knife blade, and a chute for receivin `the severed can endslocated behind the nife blade.

8. A can opening machine comprising, a

table, a shaft at each -end of said table, one of which is power driven,a pair of sprocket wheels on each shaft, sprocket chains trained aroundopposite the sprocket Wheels on said shafts, can propelling headssecured to and connecting said sprocket chains, and a knife blade,parallel with said table, stationarily supported therebove in positionto be encountered bv the upper ends of said cans, when propelled by saidheads.

9. A can opening machine comprising, a table, chain supporting' rails atthe sides thereof, and forming therewith, a trough, a shaft at each endof said table, one of which is power driven, a pair of sprocket. wheelson each shaft, sprocket chains trained aroundoppositepthe sprocketwheels on said shafts,kand supported in part by said rails, canpropelling heads secured to and connecting said sprocket chains, and aknife blade,

Aparallel with said table, stationarily sup- Yported encountered bythe'uper ends of 'said cans,

thereabove in position to be When propelled by said heads.

10. A can 'opening machine comprising, a framework, a table supportedthereon, an endless can conveyor traveling over said table, knifesupporting bars mounted on said frame Work, a can deheading knife bladeparallel with said table and secured to said bars in position to beencountered by the upper'ends of the cans when propelled by said canconveyor, and a) spring pressedA pressure bar carried by said knifesupport- 111g bars in advance of said knife blade.

WADE L. STREET.

